Last week I went on week long conference in Panama City with my church called Bible & Beach. It was seriously the best week of my life. We had speakers that challenged us in our faith, worshiped where the presence of God was undeniable, experienced community, sat in the ocean until we were as wrinkly as raisins, and baptized over 100 students in the Gulf of Mexico.
Our week had a very special theme, it was simply: You are here. And along with that we dug into the book of Daniel. When I found out that this was going to be the theme I was pretty excited. Especially because my launch date for the world race is quickly approaching and I’m still trying to remind myself that I am where I am right now for a purpose and I don’t need to wish away the present. But I was also excited because I constantly find myself forgetting that the God of the universe is here. He is here with me as I write this and He is with you as you are reading this.
I really want to share what I learned with you because I feel that it would be unfair if I kept everything I gained on the pages of my journal and in my mind as they are itching to get out. But I learned so much that this blog post would be a mile long if I told you everything. So I am going to share a few of my journal entries from last week with you in hopes that you can experience a bit of what God did through my words.
June 21, 2015
“So today was the first day of Bible & Beach. We drove all night and like half of the day to get here with like a million stops. But hey, we are here and I am thankful. The bus ride was rough but I slept about half of the way, I’m tired but not too tired to function. The theme tonight was ‘you are here.’ This guy named Brad spoke and talked about how we need to constantly be aware of the fact the God is here. Something that he said that really stuck with me was that we always know where we are but then ask the question ‘but where is God?’ This really resonates with me because sometimes I get angry when I can’t feel God. But the truth is the God is EVERYWHERE. Daniel didn’t eat the choice food because he knew it was wrong even when he didn’t feel God. He told himself that God was there and he believed it with all of his heart. I want to strive to be like that and to know and believe that God is always here. Even if I have to repeat that truth to myself over and over again until my face falls off…”
June 22, 2015
“So today was our first full day here at Bible & Beach and I had a great time. The theme today was ‘You are king.’ I need to build God’s kingdom and not my own. My goal isn’t fame, it is to be faithful. I need to start being aware of what is going to come after me because this life is so short. I loved the worship tonight and how I can feel God’s presence– I feel like he is holding me…”
June 24, 2015
“Oh man, what a day today has been. What a week it has been. God has done so much. Today started with my roomies & I sleeping through breakfast on accident and almost missing the bus to session. But it’s all good because we made it. At the morning session we ralked about pride and how Nebuchadnezzar’s pride sent him to ruin. I feel like I struggle with pride at times and I need to learn to lay it at the foot of the cross. Tonight at our evening service Matt Reagan talked about how we do wrong even when we know what is right. And we are weighing things that don’t matter on the wrong scale. The theme today was ‘you are king’–God is far above anyone else. Tonight we were challenged to listen to God in silence for a few minutes. The three words that God laid on my heart were go, share, and trust. I know that I need to go and trust God and share his word and that God’s got this. We wrote those words on a paper bag and we put a light inside the bag to symbolize that we are listening. We also had a night of worship on the beach and it was great. And now it’s time to sleep..”
June 26, 2015
“I am on my way home from Bible & Beach. It has truly been an awesome week. I have gotten closer to my c-group, had fun on the beach, and learned so much about the love of God. I didn’t get to journal yesterday so I guess that I will start there. Yesterday was ‘you are there’– God is where I am going. During small group time we all had to go around and share one of our favorite things from the week. I just talked about all the phrases like ‘you are here’ ‘you are near’ ‘you are king’, ect. and how I like them because I can hold them close to my heart and they are loaded with meaning and comfort. Yesterday I got to baptize Lizzie in the ocean. It was so awesome and I am so proud of her and honored that I got to be a part of it. This week people taught me that it’s ok to just walk up to other people and start talking to them. I hope that I never forget that and that I don’t lose my sense of boldness. Last night Jason Epperson talked about how we need to have convictions {something that you know to be true and you won’t back down from}. And Jesus’s last words weren’t sit and listen, they were go and make. So I am going home and I need to go and make. My family group has been great and it is cool to have leaders who pray for you throughout the week and make you feel loved. It has been a great week B&B 2015.”
I hope that some of my journal entries can give you guys an inside look at what God did in my heart last week and in the hearts of 1,300 other students that were there with me. I am so thankful, it’s cool how God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Thanks for reading this super duper long blog post, much love. 🙂
Sorry, just one more thing.. I have to be fully funded for the world race in about a month and a half and I still need to raise $3,000. So if you would prayerfully consider donating to my trip that would be phenomenal!!
